Asus ZenPad C 7.0 First Impressions and Quick Review

The
Asus ZenPad C 7.0 has not been released in the Philippine market yet, but we
are fortunate enough to have played with the upcoming slate from one of the
most popular brands to date. The ZenPad is the concerted effort of the Taiwanese
outfit to merge their existing tablet portfolios – FonePad and MemoPad. The
ZenPad C 7.0 would probably have a better reception compared to the previously
released slates of the company. Why? Join us as we walk you through our first
impressions and quick review of the tablet after the fold.

Asus
ZenPad C 7.0 First Impressions

Just
like any other slate from Asus, the ZenPad C 7.0 is a solidly-built device. The
back panel is made of embossed leather pattern which offers easy grip with one
hand. The slate comes with a Nexus 7-ish air in terms of design. On the front
panel, it offers the same level of bezel thickness as the original Nexus 7.

On
portrait mode, the front panel basically houses the front-facing camera on the
upper right corner of the device. The bottom bar of the panel sports the Asus
branding. Flipping the tablet, you will see another Asus branding at the center of
the back panel in portrait mode. The 5MP rear camera is smacked at the upper
right corner.

Across
it is the flip cover which reveals the slots for two SIM modules as well as the
microSD card. The top side comes with the power button and the volume rocker.
Likewise, the microUSB port is situated in the right side of the device in
landscape. With the port and button placements, I could say that Asus design
this tablet to be mostly used in portrait mode.

Asus ZenPad C 7.0 Display

As
far as the display goes, the ZenPad C 7.0 comes with a 67.6 percent screen to
body ratio treated with an oleophobic coating; it also offers multi-touch functions
up to 10 fingers. The screen offers 600 x 1024 pixels which frames 170 ppi
pixel density.

Compared
to other 7-inchers of the same screen resolution, the ZenPad C 7.0 registers a 178-degree
wide viewing angle which is a real deal in actual testing. Indoors, colors
come with great clarity and brightness; however, the quality degrades in outdoor
setting, especially under direct sunlight.

Asus ZenPad C 7.0 Performance

The
ZenPad C 7.0 is powered by an Intel Atom x3-C3200 chipset which includes a
quad-core CPU and a Mali-450 MP4 GPU. App launching in this new ZenPad is quite
zippy, running multiple titles also comes with ease.

Sound
quality is quite legit. I never expected this handset to deliver in this front
but I guess it’s basically designed with multimedia consumption in mind. The
slate is a good companion for those who want to keep their productivity in
high bars, even when mobile.

Asus ZenPad C 7.0 Camera

On
paper, the ZenPad C 7.0 PixelMaster camera comes with a low-light mode which
boosts the light sensitivity by up to 400 percent. The slate also has some
other tricks on its sleeve like the selfie panorama with 140-degree wide angle
shots. However, the rear camera does not have an autofocus function which oftentimes lead to poor image quality.

Other
than that, most outputs are decent if we only narrow the comparison to the
tablet space.

Asus ZenPad C 7.0 Software
and Zen UI

The
ZenPad C 7.0 also comes with a brand-new holistic Zen UI that sits on top of
Android 5.0.2 Lollipop. It offers several necessities like the Zen Motion wherein
you can set a tap motion to wake the device. You can also assign specified
gestures to launch specific apps. The Zen UI also features the Kids Mode giving
parents a breath of fresh air in handling the tablet down to their kids.

Asus ZenPad C 7.0 Battery
and Connectivity

On
paper, the Asus promises the ZenPad C 7.0 users to have 8 hours of battery life.
Connectivity-wise, the tablet offers a complete set of radios for purported users.
The Asus ZenPad C 7.0 has Wi-Fi (Z170C) and 3G (Z170CG) models. Unlike any
other tablets, the ZenPad C 7.0 comes with phone capability allowing you to take
calls and send SMS on your device.

Conclusion

The
Asus ZenPad C 7.0 promises a great hardware on top of a very affordable asking
price of Php 5,995 (to be confirmed). Continuing the reputation of the
Zenfones, the ZenPad C 7.0 could easily be an instant hit with the fact that it
comes with good hardware, great marketing and tempting price standpoint. It is
expected to hit the shelves in the coming weeks.

Asus ZenPad
C 7.0 (Z170C) Specs

7-inch IPS
display with 1024 x 600 pixels

Intel Atom
x3-C3200

1.2GHz
quad-core processor

1GB of RAM

8GB of
storage, expandable up to 64GB via microSD

5MP or 2MP
rear camera

VGA 0.3MP
front camera

Dual
SIM/dual-standby (not all variants)

3G support
(Z170CG)

Wi-Fi and
Wi-Fi Hotspot

Bluetooth
4.0

GPS with
A-GPS

Micro USB
2.0

3.5mm Audio
Jack

Android 5.0
Lollipop

265 grams,
8.4-millimeter thickness

Black,
White, Red, Aurora Metallic

The upcoming Asus ZenPad C 7.0 is set to hit PH's entry-level tablet market by storm in the coming weeks; and we've got an exclusive First Impressions pressed on our website. Mind checking it out?

Pinoy Metro Geek is a PCB-SiP Package Design Layout Engineer by day and a Tech Blog Power Ranger by night. He juggles his interests in gadgets, travel and music. He likes to do all his techie stuff with his cup of coffee.